Sarah Jones defamation suit could have far-reaching impact

Operator of 'The Dirty' plans to appeal

Former Ben-gal cheerleader Sarah Jones left the federal courthouse in Covington $338,000 richer Thursday afternoon, after a jury ruled against the gossip website that published defamatory comments about her sex life.

Jeff Blevins, head of the University of Cincinnati's Journalism Department, said the verdict is a big win for the everyday citizen. He said it marks a turning of the tides in favor of a person's right to protect his or her reputation.

"We have a right to say bad things about people and to say it in an uncivil way. But you don't have a right to falsely defame someone, particularly a private individual," Blevins said.

In this case, the website "The Dirty" claimed it wasn't liable for simply hosting what others posted, but a judge and a jury disagreed, saying the website encouraged defamatory posts.

First Amendment lawyer Jack Greiner said he fears the verdict could have a chilling effect on other website operators, including people who host political discussion pages and other social media sites.

"As an operator, looking at the possibility of a six-figure verdict, they're going to take the easy way out and the minute somebody complains about it, take it down," Greiner said. "What's that going to do to the quality of discussion and debate online?"

Blevins argued that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"I hope it gives people pause. That everyone will take a step back and think, 'gee, before I hit send, I should think about the responsibility that I'm taking, that maybe I'm going to be responsible for this,' and hopefully, it'll make Internet service providers feel a greater sense of responsibility, as well," he said.

The Obama administration will unveil a major climate change plan Monday aimed at a large reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the nation's coal-burning power plants, a senior administration official told CNN.